Have you heard of big data in restaurants? Chances are, you already have! This is because the entire restaurant space is being rapidly transformed through digitization. The usage of data analytics in restaurants, especially for viewing reports and metrics linked to the organization, is steadily becoming vital for restaurant managers/owners. They are increasingly learning how to use data analytics for both marketing as well as tracking restaurant performance.
An analysis of restaurant management systems aside, analytics covers the examination of each and every data source linked to the business, which is then transformed into relevant insights that may help in enhancing all aspects of the business. These include training your staff members and consumer-friendly rewards/benefits to menu cards and other policies/marketing initiatives. Analytics is different from plain reporting since it enables an understanding of what the numbers actually mean for the business.
Big data in restaurants
The Big data food industry space is increasing steadily over time. Big data means the huge volume of information that the restaurant software management platform/system is continually churning out. This starts with placement of orders by customers all the way to final payments. It also includes customer opinions and feedback. Bigger brands often have technology companies/vendors managing their analytics, software and tracking solutions enabling restaurants to look at the data being generated and get it analyzed for coming up with solutions, insights and actionable strategies.
Generating Information
Restaurants can consistently generate more data and this may prove to be a business game-changer if used in a proper manner. Restaurants can use online reservation systems for gathering information on guests including their preferences, ordering patterns, personal information, allergies, feedback, etc. along with other analytics and breakdowns of consumer groups, offering a better picture into restaurant performance, and enabling data-oriented decisions. POS systems also help with gathering data for restaurants. You can track the average ticket size for each customer along with the dishes which are most popular and a lot more. Reservation systems may sometimes be cross-synced with the POS system, enabling access to a lot of other information at a single point. Other advanced systems have in-built automation mechanisms which spur automated activities for running on the auto-pilot basis, and this works on the principle of varied criteria (auto-tagging of customers based on their visit frequency and spending amounts, etc.). Automation helps restaurants keep collecting data more easily while getting access to a more comprehensive database in turn.
Data analytics goes a long way towards enhancing revenues in the long run since they help brands make critical decisions. They can identify issues hindering sales, footfall and profitability as well. They can plug loss-making areas and dishes while identifying the best-sellers, consumer ordering patterns and what people want on a long-term basis. Restaurants can use this data to optimize their table turnover ratios, along with covering the forecasting of sales figures, lifetime value forecasting of a consumer, repeat trends, improvement in operations and profiling of guests. Predictive analytics can also play a big role in planning, minimizing waste and forecasting business revenues.
